Console Corner: The Division 2 review
Tom Clancy’s The Division was one of my biggest disappointments of the current gen consoles but could the sequel repair the damage?
To give some perspective the original released by Massive Entertainment and Ubisoft back in 2016 was hyped beyond measure.
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Hide AdIn fact the game broke records, including highest number of first-day sales for Ubisoft and quickly became the company’s best-selling title. The Division also broke the industry record for biggest first-week launch for a new game franchise, generating an estimated amount of $330 million across the globe.
But for everything good about The Division there was something else holding it back.
Thankfully I can report that the sequel, released on PS4, XB1 and Windows mid-March, bears none of those scars.
For anyone new to The Division, it is a third-person online action role-playing game and the sequel is set in a near-future Washington DC in the aftermath of a smallpox pandemic.
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Hide AdIt follows an agent of the Strategic Homeland Division as they try to rebuild the city. Three years have passed since the original but The Division 2 is set seven months after its predecessor as civil war breaks out between survivors and criminal marauders.
Like World of Warcraft before it players can cooperate with each other to complete objectives and features raids allowing up to eight players to be involved at any time.
The game world is stunning as is the design, particularly when accounting for combat. You will encounter a host of different enemies with varying attributes, weaknesses and skills which makes said combat unpredicatable, challenging and thrilling throughout. No sign of any grind here!
The progression is key in TCTD2, though. Rewards finally feel like they mean something and there is a huge sense of satisfaction which just was not there in the original.
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Hide AdThe crowning achievement is when playing with others and I am yet to experience any of the problems which affected that experience in the first game. The multi-player element is smooth, functional and even more rewarding.
I really struggled to come up with anything negative about TCTD2. The plot has taken a bit of a bashing in some early reviews I have seen but that was not something which struck me as particularly bad...but then I have just recently written a review for Left Alive (nuff said!).
There is lots of interesting content to explore as you make your way through around three days worth of game time to completion.
The Division 2 is the refined, satisfying and beautiful shared-world shooter we were promised the first time around. Better late than never I guess. Superb.